DocUtah postpones screening of ‘Bound by the Wind,’ film telling the stories of downwinders

Stock image | Photo by Bet_Noire/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — DocUtah International Documentary Film Festival is postponing the screening of “Bound by the Wind,” originally scheduled for Feb. 26, to a later date yet to be announced. Festival organizers announced they are also rolling films accepted for its 2020 festival into the November 2021 festival. 

Scene from “Tuacahn: Miracle in Padre Canyon” documentary, Ivins, Utah, circa 2017 | Photo courtesy of DocUtah, St. George News

The 2021 festival will now present over 100 films along with daily DOCTalks and events. DocUtah is in the process of determining a monthly screening schedule as COVID-19 restrictions loosen up. According to a press release from DOCUTAH, festival organizers will announce these changes in a few months.

“With COVID still affecting the number of people who can gather safely, we decided that rather than lose everything we worked for in 2020, we would expand our festival and keep working to have an in-person, live festival,” Phil Tuckett, director and founder of DocUtah, said in the press release. “The festival experience with intimate interaction with filmmakers is still the best way to enjoy a film festival and get energy from a like-minded audience.”

As previously reported in St. George News, patrons who purchased tickets for the 2020 Festival may use those tickets in November, receive a refund by contacting the Dixie State University box office or donate them to the Dixie State Film Program. Ticket sales for the November festival will begin in September.

About ‘Bound by the Wind’

2020 marked 75 years since the first atomic bombs were used. “Bound by the Wind” is a portrait of the enormous human costs of the Cold War nuclear arms race, as well as the secrecy, negligence and deceit which characterized the superpowers’ nuclear testing programs.

“To this day, so many living in our midst are suffering the consequences of being ‘downwind’ from the horrific blasts conducted in the Nevada desert decades ago,” Della Lowe, marketing and public relations director for DocUtah, said in the release. “Emmy Award-winning filmmaker David Brown travels the world to give voice to the thousands, if not millions, continuing to be afflicted by the fallout from atomic testing with civilians in the way.”

Public domain image from Operation Buster-Jangle – Dog test, Nevada, Nov. 1, 1951 | St. George News

The documentary is structured around the dramatic stories of several downwinders from the United States, the former Soviet Union and the South Pacific who have become committed activists in the global movement to achieve a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing. The film also documents some of the major legal fights for justice and compensation over the health damage caused by nuclear testing.

About DocUtah

DocUtah International Documentary Film Festival is now in the 12th season of providing world-class documentary films in Southern Utah. The 2021 festival will take place in November and is located at the Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theatres at Pineview in St. George. 

DocUtah celebrates the art of documentary filmmaking. The festival, which is part of Dixie State University, gives students in DSU’s film degree program the opportunity to interact with professionals in the discipline. 

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